Asian stock markets rose Wednesday after strong U.S. corporate earnings sent the Dow close to its record high. Japanese shares faltered, however, as the yen rebounded against the dollar. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index tumbled as the yen strengthened against the dollar following a pledge by finance ministers from the world's major advanced economies to refrain from intentionally weakening their currencies.
The Nikkei 225 was down 1.1 percent to 11,239.56. Australian stocks hit their highest intraday level in nearly three years before ceding some gains. The S&P/ASX 200 was up 1 percent to 5,006.20 after the release of strong earnings from Commonwealth Bank of Australia and construction company Leighton Holdings. South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.4 percent to 1,973.48. Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines also rose. Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam were closed for Lunar New Year holidays.
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations said in a statement following a meeting in Brussels that they remained committed to exchange rates driven by the market, not government or central bank policies. Traders interpreted the statement as a message directed at Japan, where the yen has plummeted against the dollar since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office and pushed the central bank for ultra-loose monetary policy.
source : the jakarta post
source : the jakarta post
0 comments:
Post a Comment